Last month we learned Eddie Redmayne was the front-runner to play Newt Scamander in the Harry Potter spin-off FANTASTIC BEASTS AND WHERE TO FIND THEM, however sources said he wouldn't commit to the project until after reading the script, which hadn't been completed yet. Well, the script has been delivered, and it appears Redmayne is quite pleased with it, as Variety is reporting that the Oscar-winning actor is officially in talks for the lead role.
Variety also says there are four other main roles Warner Bros. is looking to cast (two American boys and two American boys), and Yates and the studio are "expected to meet next week for the two female leads."
Production on FANTASTIC BEASTS AND WHERE TO FIND THEM will start this summer, with David Yates directing from a script by author. J.K. Rowling. Loosely based on Rowling's 2001 book of the same name ("written" by magizoologist Newt Scamander) about the many different creatures in the Potter universe, the film will be the first of a planned trilogy, and will be set "in New York roughly seven decades before Harry Potter’s saga starts."
FANTASTIC BEASTS AND WHERE TO FIND THEM is set to be released on November 18, 2016, and the sequels will be in theaters sometime in 2018 and 2020.